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The Breast Tax and the Upper Cloth Movement
Nangeli’s story, is it true?A considerable furor seems to have been created by news reports detailing the legend of a lady named Nangeli who once lived at Chertala in Travancore. Some based their...
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The Christmas Island Revolt - 1942
And V.E. Mathew of Ka-su-ma-su I am almost sure that many of you would not have heard this story, barring a few live in Britain and Australia, those who peruse newspapers and old WWII stories...
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Louisa Carolina Maria Ouwerkerk and her travails There are some people who deserve all the respect you can give them. Louise, if you ask me is one of them. Her story is multilayered and complex, with...
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The Malayali Platoons at the Dimapur - Tedim track
Indo Burma Border 1942 – The story of Jamadar Gopala Krishna WarrierI did not believe that there existed any book in the history of this world, so dedicated to a simple Malayali soldier, but I was...
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The story of Sabu, the elephant boy
Sabu Selar’s trip from Mysore to HollywoodSome months ago, I saw the latest version of the Jungle book film in IMAX 3D hoping it will be a great experience, and came away with the conclusion that I...
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The Pathana at Pallavur
The muted sounds of the CCU were permeating my consciousness, I was supine and I had nothing to do. After a while, I was scanning the hall, starting with the fluorescent lights, and stopping often at...
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A heady marriage
English and Indian influences – Zimbly EnglishYou start to notice the real difference only after you travel to other parts of the world. As we grew up in India, the English we learnt and the English we...
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Peace at the 38th
Indian role in defusing the Korean situation 1950-54The 38th parallel, the real line of latitude does not actually divide the Koreas, but in diplomatic parlance is considered to be the divider between...
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Colonel Cyril J Stracey - I.N.A – A remarkable man
Sept 6th 1945, Singapore – A small crowd is gathered in front of an Azad Hind monument at Connaught Drive. As Indian Engineers position guncotton charges, Major Donald Brunt (Royal Engineers) is seen...
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The Englishman’s tail
And the role of Hanuman in it……What if I told you that there was a time when many a person believed Englishmen were the descendants of Hanuman and his ape friends? And If I continued to state that this...
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Smiling Buddha – Pokhran 1
India’s PNE at Pokhran 1974A number of you would have seen the recent film ‘Paramanu’ and have assumed that the tests of 1998 was the seminal event signaling India’s nuclear journey, but many of you...
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Alexander’s ventures underwater
When Alexander dived into the depthsAlexander or Iskandar the great warrior from Macedonia was a very interesting person to say the least, mainly for having stoked the imaginations of so many over...
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The Spencer Saga
The Spencer’s of the RajThis is yet another name that in theory belongs to previous generations. There was a time when the name was synonymous to quality thus justifying the high prices quality...
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The Violin in Carnatic music
From the Ravanhasta to the Indian violinSome people get irritated when I conjure up a story connecting something from the present to its past origins in India. They equate it to the pater in “my fat...
View ArticleCannanore Days
Burnshire - Cannanore 1944-46 Burma had been taken by the Japanese, Singapore and Malaya had been lost earlier and the trepidation of invasion through the eastern frontier near Assam was paramount in...
View ArticleDiwali, Bali and Onam
Their esoteric connections Diwali is around the corner. But what is it really about? Which legend started the celebration? Why is it that Malayalis do not celebrate Diwali? What are the stories...
View ArticleThe Story Of TERLS
TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) – Its genesis One of our pastimes while at school in Kazhakootam was to go out and watch the rocket launches from nearby Thumba. The clear line of...
View ArticleThe Travails of a Theban Lawyer
A Greek sailor’s trip to Malabar circa 355-363 AD Deeply buried in the many layers of ancient history connected to the Malabar West Coast is the story of the Theban lawyer, one that has not been...
View ArticleThe Kongan Pada at Chittur – A study
You may not realize it today, but in the times of yore, the land on the west of the Sahyadri mountain range was a mysterious place for the people on the other side. The only way to get a view of the...
View ArticleA Tale of Two Spies
Spring 2015 – The hundred year old Betty P McIntosh was giving a fine speech. The rapt CIA Langley audience, many decades her junior, craned forward to listen to the queen of black information. The...
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